Stockton-made electric trucks debut today at UPS ceremony

Gov. Jerry Brown is slated this morning to help unveil a fleet of electric delivery vans produced by Electric Vehicles International in Stockton at a UPS distribution center in West Sacramento.

The Record

Gov. Jerry Brown is slated this morning to help unveil a fleet of electric delivery vans produced by Electric Vehicles International in Stockton at a UPS distribution center in West Sacramento.

UPS agreed in 2011 to buy 100 of the vehicles - the company's standard delivery vans outfitted with electric motors, drive trains, batteries and controls made by EVI - to be used in various regions of California, including the Central Valley and Southern California.

The delivery company has said the new vans will replace older-generation diesel trucks, an equal number of which would burn an estimated 126,000 gallons of fuel a year.

According to government records, the electric trucks will cost about $178,000 apiece, or close to three times the price of conventional trucks.

In an effort to encourage development of the industry and help bring down prices, California and clean air agencies contributed $78,000 per vehicle to their production.

EVI Chief Executive Officer Ricky Hanna acknowledged those contributions, saying, "Without the initial spark provided by our public and private partners, this landmark zero-emission truck deployment would not have happened here in California."